The Fatal War
by Swiftpath
Summary: War breaks out between ThunderClan and ShadowClan after ThunderClan's "unprovoked" attack. Other Clans side with ShadowClan, and then the Dark Forest makes its move.
1. Chapter 1

**A Dark War**

**Chapter 1**

Moonlight shone through the trees, casting shadows. A small silver and white tabby she-cat with fatigued dark blue eyes stumbled behind a patrol of three other cats. A pale gray she-cat with blue eyes padded beside a larger gray tabby she-cat. A lean golden tabby tom with amber eyes led the group. The gray she-cat turned, "Ivypaw! Try to keep up, for StarClan's sake!" "I'm trying, Cinderheart!" the gray and white cat who stumbled at the rear called back. "Try harder!" Cinderheart snapped. Suddenly, a twig snapped. The golden tom at the front stopped and perked up his ears. "Can you sense anything, Dovepaw?" he breathed so no one else could hear. Dovepaw focused for a second, and then whispered back urgently, "ShadowClan warriors at the abandoned Twoleg nest!" The tom raced through the trees, surprising Cinderheart and Ivypaw. "Hey, wait up!" yelled Cinderheart as Dovepaw ran after the tom. Ivypaw staggered after Cinderheart. I could've been in the Dark Forest training now! She thought bitterly as she gave chase, Not practicing some useless night hunting! The sight at the abandoned Twoleg nest when she arrived quickly changed her mind.

"Dovepaw, go get Graystripe's patrol to help!" the tom ordered. "Okay, Lionblaze!" she quickly replied before zooming off through the trees. "He's by the WindClan border!" Lionblaze called after her. Lionblaze then turned to face the ShadowClan warriors as Cinderheart and Ivypaw arrived. The sleek ShadowClan pelts cast shadows on the wooden boards of the abandoned Twoleg nest behind them. A ginger tom separated himself from the four other cats. "Lionblaze, we thought you'd like to know that from now on, the clearing, the Greenleaf Twoleg place, and all your territory along the old Thunderpath up to this Twoleg nest now belongs to ShadowClan." "In your crow-food induced dreams, Rowanclaw!" Lionblaze snarled back. With a screech, Rowanclaw barreled into Lionblaze. The other ShadowClan cats charged Cinderheart and Ivypaw, who took two each. The battle had begun.

Cinderheart slashed and clawed, sending a ginger tom apprentice staggering away. Then a tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes that Cinderheart recognized as Tawnypelt leapt onto her. The two were fighting in a whirlwind of fury. Cinderheart barely noticed the minor injuries she was getting every few seconds. Then Cinderheart tripped over a root jutting out of the ground. She fell on her back. In triumph, Tawnypelt called to the ginger tom Cinderheart had wounded earlier, "Come on, Starlingpaw, lets take this ThunderClan scum-" She was cut off as a golden blur slammed into her, throwing her across the length of the Twoleg nest. Lionblaze bore down on Tawnypelt, and forced her back into combat. "Thanks!" Cinderheart called after Lionblaze before rushing to go back to Starlingpaw.

Ivypaw was having the time of her life. She was fighting Oakfur, a small brown tom and the most senior warrior in ShadowClan. His apprentice, a cream and gray tom named Ferretpaw fought by his side. Ivypaw was easily holding them at bay with her training from the Dark Forest. She laughed as Ferretpaw dove at her vainly. Ivypaw stepped aside and let Ferretpaw slide by her. She knocked him on the head with sheathed claws before parrying an attack from Oakfur. Suddenly, Rowanclaw, the deputy of ShadowClan, was beside Oakfur. Ivypaw suddenly found it a little harder to keep the two warriors at bay. Then Ferretpaw leapt back into the fray, and Ivypaw soon found herself cornered against the faded, peeling wooden walls of the abandoned Twoleg nest. Suddenly, there was a yowl, and Dovepaw and a long haired gray tom, Graystripe, started fighting alongside Ivypaw, driving the ShadowClan cats back. Ivypaw caught glances of the dark brown tabby tom Dustpelt and the pale ginger she-cat Sandstorm fighting Tawnypelt. Sandstorm's green eyes flashed as she viciously clawed Tawnypelt's back, leaving deep scratches. Nearby, the golden brown tabby tom Brackenfur was assisting Cinderheart take down Starlingpaw. Lionblaze came to help fend off Rowanclaw and Company. Then Rowanclaw's yowl cut the air, "ShadowClan! Retreat!" The ThunderClan cats stopped as the ShadowClan cats scrambled for their border. "Don't come back!" Lionblaze yowled after them. He turned back and watched the ThunderClan cats lick their wounds. Lionblaze was splattered in blood, but none of it was his. Dustpelt had a torn ear, Graystripe had a front claw yanked out, Ivypaw had a small claw mark, Sandstorm had a longer one down her belly, Cinderheart had a scar around her eyes, Brackenfur had a torn ear like Dustpelt, and Dovepaw was favoring her back paw. Graystripe started to give orders once they had rested for a few minutes, "Brackenfur, Dustpelt, go make sure ShadowClan hasn't stayed in our territory. Lionblaze, Cinderheart, Dovepaw, and Ivypaw, go see Jayfeather. Me and Sandstorm will go make sure no other ShadowClan cats are around." Dustpelt and Brackenfur dipped their heads and headed for the ShadowClan border. Ivypaw sighed and fell into step beside her sister Dovepaw, the adrenaline draining from her system.

Jayfeather sighed and rinsed Lionblaze off with water from the pool in the medicine den. As the blind medicine cat, he was always under much pressure. "Lionblaze, couldn't you just get hurt on purpose so no one finds out about your powers? Cinderheart came in a few days ago and asked why you're always splattered in blood that's not your own and you are never injured a few days ago." "So I'm supposed to go up to my opponent and let him beat the StarClan out of me?" Lionblaze asked sarcastically. "Yes," snapped Jayfeather, "how else can you do it?" Lionblaze was so taken aback he simply shut up. Jayfeather finished cleaning him up and thrust him outside the medicine den into an unamused Cinderheart. She sighed, "Jayfeather, why is he never hurt! It's so weird! Shouldn't he have at least something!" The gray tabby tom replied, " I'd be grateful that my friend was so good at not getting hurt, Cinderheart." He flashed Lionblaze an I-told-you-so look, his blind blue eyes glittering. Cinderheart rolled her eyes and padded away.

Firestar, a ginger tom with a flame-colored pelt, and the leader of ThunderClan, listened intently as Lionblaze finished his report. Behind him, Brambleclaw, a dark brown tabby with amber eyes, and the deputy of ThunderClan, paced at the back of Firestar's den. Firestar was silent after Lionblaze stopped talking, but Brambleclaw was furious, "How dare they try to take our territory!" he snarled, tearing at the floor of the den. Lionblaze stared as the cat he once thought was his father until recently vent his anger. It wasn't too long ago that Lionblaze found out that Brambleclaw and a certain dark ginger she-cat with green eyes named Squirrelflight weren't his parents. His real parents were a light brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes and Crowfeather, a dark gray WindClan tom. Leafpool, his mom, was the former ThunderClan medicine cat. The truth came out finally, and with terrible consequences. Brambleclaw, who had always thought Lionblaze and Jayfeather were his sons, broke up with Squirrelflight and had never communicated with her since. Having love with a cat from another Clan was forbidden, and medicine cats were forbidden to love as well, so Leafpool had to step down as a medicine cat. She was now the weakest, least confident warrior in ThunderClan. Crowfeather, who had found a new mate in Nightcloud, a black WindClan she-cat, now had quarrels with her, and Breezepelt, a black tom with amber eyes, and the offspring of Crowfeather and Nightcloud, was embarrassed, his life ruined. Worst, Hollyleaf, a black she-cat with emerald eyes, and Lionblaze and Jayfeather's sister, couldn't bear the the truth, and tried to escape through tunnel network that ran underneath the Clan territories to start a new life. Lionblaze had discovered the tunnels as an apprentice with Heathertail, a light brown tabby she-cat with blue eyes, and Lionblaze's former love. Now Lionblaze and Heathertail hated each other after Lionblaze broke it up. Anyway, the tunnel entrance collapsed on Hollyleaf as she had run in, and she died. Now Lionblaze and Jayfeather hated Leafpool more than anyone else, and Squirrelflight came second on their hate list. Back to the story, Firestar finally spoke, "We need to increase border patrols on the ShadowClan border, and I'll mention it at the next Gathering." "Is that enough?" Brambleclaw challenged, "They took a huge slab of territory! Increasing patrols is too mild an action!" Firestar met Brambleclaw's glare, "If their is reason to take more drastic action, I shall do it. For now, increasing patrols is enough." Brambleclaw cursed and stormed out of the den. Lionblaze stared after him, an uneasy feeling in his stomach. Firestar shared his uneasiness.


	2. The Gathering and its Aftermath

**The Fatal War**

**Chapter 2**

The full moon shone brightly in the sky as Firestar led the ThunderClan cats along the beach towards the island. Shivering, Rosepetal, a dark cream she-cat, whispered to Foxleap, a reddish tabby tom, "Great StarClan, its cold! I hope we get there soon." Foxleap agreed. Firestar bounded onto the fallen tree that made a bridge to the Gathering Island. The fallen tree lay over the remains of Mudclaw, a WindClan tom. When the old leader of WindClan, Tallstar, died, he appointed Onewhisker deputy with his dying breaths. Mudclaw was furious and disbelieving, and WindClan was divided into Mudclaw supporters and Onewhisker supporters. In a battle that was started by Mudclaw, a tree was struck by lightning, crushing Mudclaw and creating a bridge to the island. Onewhisker was now Onestar, the leader of WindClan. When the ThunderClan cats arrived, the stunted WindClan cats and the sleek, fat RiverClan cats were already there. The brown tabby tom Onestar and Mistystar, a gray she-cat with blue eyes and the leader of RiverClan, sat on the branches of the Great Oak. Firestar bounded up to join them. Soon the ShadowClan cats arrived, and Blackstar, a large white tom with bigger jet-black paws, and the leader of ShadowClan, was up on the branches with the other three Clan leaders. Onestar started the meeting, "WindClan is healthy, there is still plenty of prey, and we are thriving." He bowed his head to Mistystar, who spoke next, "RiverClan is also thriving, our kits need to be told to be kept off the ice, but other than that, we are fine." Next went Firestar, "ShadowClan tried to deliberately take all of our territory along the old Thunderpath up to the Twoleg nest! What true warrior does that?" Gasps came from the clearing beneath the Great Oak. Blackstar leapt to his oversized paws, his branch swaying, "What true warrior takes the clearing he gave to us as a gift unprovoked?" More gasps of shock came. Firestar's eyes blazed, "You were intending to take our Twoleg nest before that battle!" "What proof do you have of that?" Blackstar countered. Firestar responded, "A dream from StarClan!" The clearing was now deathly quiet. "Who received this dream?" Blackstar hissed, quiet as a snake. Firestar wouldn't lie, "Ivypaw." Firestar was secretly glad both Ivypaw and Dovepaw weren't at the Gathering. The clearing erupted in jeers and taunts aimed at Firestar and the ThunderClan cats. Blackstar was grinning maliciously, "An apprentice having a dream from StarClan! Have you heard anything more preposterous?" More jeers and taunts were called, and Firestar bowed his head. When it quieted down, Blackstar spoke, "My Clan won't attack you now, Firestar. But when the full moon sets, ShadowClan is at war with ThunderClan." Firestar nodded. Onestar then threw his muzzle in Firestar's face, 'The same goes for WindClan, Firestar. When the moon sets." "When the moon sets." Firestar answered. Onestar leapt to the ground, "Let's go home, WindClan." Firestar watched as WindClan left. Blackstar leapt down after, "Come on, ShadowClan." Mistystar stared at Firestar uncertainly before gathering her own cats and leaving. Finally, Firestar leapt down, "Back to camp, ThunderClan." The ThunderClan cats were silent as Firestar led them back.

The moon disappeared below the horizon, marking war. Brambleclaw padded out of the warrior's den to the waiting warriors outside, "Rosepetal, Toadstep, Blossomfall, Cloudtail, Brightheart, Sorreltail, Brackenfur, Thornclaw, and Bumblestripe, patrol the ShadowClan border. Graystripe, Dustpelt, Sandstorm, Millie, Spiderleg, Leafpool, Squirrelflight, Foxleap, and Icecloud, patrol WindClan's border. I'll lead the remaining warriors in defending the camp. The 18 attack warriors ran out of camp. Brambleclaw immediately started the remaining warriors. The fresh-kill pile was still relatively high from yesterday, so Brambleclaw's first order was to barricade the nursery and elders den with brambles after stocking them with plenty of fresh-kill. Mousefur, a small dusky brown she-cat, and Purdy, a plump tabby tom with a gray muzzle, and a former loner, were the two elders in ThunderClan, and were barricaded in the elder's den with plenty of fresh-kill, wet moss, and a small dirtplace area at the back of the den, much to their dismay. It was the exact same in the nursery, with Ferncloud, a pale gray she-cat with darker flecks and green eyes, Daisy, a long-furred cream she-cat from the horseplace, and Poppyfrost, a tortoiseshell she-cat. Poppyfrost was nursing Berrynose's kits, Cherrykit, a ginger she-kit, and Molekit, a brown and cream tom. All were bundled in the nursery with fresh-kill, wet moss, and a small dirtplace, like the elder's den. Brambleclaw posted Lionblaze and Cinderheart to guard the entrance of the camp, and Mousewhisker, a gray and white tom, and Hazeltail, a small gray and white she-cat, to guard the secret entrance. The camp would be ready for any attack made by ShadowClan _or_ WindClan.

Thornclaw cautiously sniffed at the border before motioning the remaining patrol onward. Suddenly, a strong whiff of ShadowClan scent caught Thornclaw's attention. Then a patrol of eight ShadowClan warriors came out of the bushes and stepped across the border. Then they spotted Thornclaw. Rowanclaw saw Thornclaw and motioned to his patrol, "Prepare to lose more of your land, ThunderClan scum!" Roaring, Thornclaw launched himself into Rowanclaw. Around them, the wave of ThunderClan cats met the wave of ShadowClan. The battle had begun.

On the WindClan border, Graystripe was confronting a WindClan patrol lead by Breezepelt. Breezepelt grappled with Graystripe while the other cats battled, "Hey Graystripe how's Ivypaw? The one you got your message from StarClan from?" snarled Breezepelt as he pinned Graystripe down. Graystripe went limp, and Breezepelt crowed in victory. Then Graystripe flipped, and Breezepelt lost his balance and fell. Graystripe was over him in a second, and soon Breezepelt was badly scarred and mutilated. Then Graystripe slammed Breezepelt's head against a rock, knocking him unconscious. Graystripe ran and knocked Heathertail away from Leafpool, and proceeded to battle Crowfeather.

Back in camp, Firestar stiffened as he heard battle yowls from the ShadowClan border. Then there were yowls from the WindClan border. A while later, Graystripe burst back into camp, "We couldn't hold them, WindClan is coming!" Yowls of panic came, with Firestar and Brambleclaw unsuccessfully trying to calm cats down. Finally, Firestar yowled for silence. Everyone in ThunderClan quieted down. "We shall barricade the main entrance!" gasps of shock came. "You'd leave Thornclaw's patrol stranded out there!" Graystripe yowled in horror. "There is a secret entrance to the camp that Mousewhisker and Hazeltail are guarding right now." Firestar pushed aside some bushes and showed them. The small Hazeltail and the bigger Mousewhisker were at the top. "When Thornclaw's patrol returns, let them in this way!" Firestar called. Mousewhisker acknowledged. Firestar turned to see Lionblaze coming back into camp with a trail of brambles. Cinderheart had already placed hers beside the entrance and gone back out in search for more. "Help them." Firestar ordered. Soon the main entrance was barricaded with a mass of impenetrable brambles and thorns. "Let's see WindClan try and get through that!" Whitewing, a white she-cat with green eyes, called. Suddenly, there came a rustling, and Thornclaw's patrol bounded into the camp from the secret entrance. "We chased ShadowClan all the way back to their camp, but decided against attacking because there were kits, queens, and elders. The snarl in voice told Firestar he had voted for attacking. Suddenly, there came a scratching from the main entrance. "A muffled WindClan voice cried, "They've barricaded themselves in!" Another voice said, "That's a good thing! Now they can't hunt, so we'll simply besiege this entrance until they surrender!" "Oh, we can still hunt all right!" Firestar murmured, glancing to the secret, hidden entrance. "We besiege you, ThunderClan!" A WindClan cat cried. Jeers followed. Firestar simply bowed his head, just like at the Gathering.


	3. Besiege and Freedom

**The Fatal War**

**Chapter 3**

It went on like that for a quarter moon. WindClan guarded the main entrance of the ThunderClan camp, not knowing about the secret entrance which ThunderClan cats were using to bring in prey. WindClan was getting tired. "You know, its been a quarter moon. Shouldn't they have surrendered from starvation by now?" A WindClan cat asked. Firestar, who was on his way to the fresh-kill pile, stopped to listen. "Firestar is too proud. He'd let his Clan starve before he'd admit defeat." Firestar chose a mouse, slowly boiling as he took it to share with his mate, Sandstorm. The WindClan voices stopped their conversation soon, and Firestar ate in peace. Sandstorm could tell Firestar seemed troubled, and she asked what was wrong. "Nothing." Firestar replied, but his voice sounded hollow. Sandstorm let it go, but she went to see Jayfeather.

When Sandstorm arrived, Jayfeather was sorting herbs, "Can I speak to you, Jayfeather?" "Later." Jayfeather replied, shoving a big green bundle to one side and a smaller, yellowish one to the other. "Now, please?" She asked. "I'm busy!" Jayfeather snapped, throwing a flurry of crumbling, old leaves away. "It's about Firestar." Jayfeather stopped and stared at her, "What about him?" "I don't know. He seems sort of sad. The life seems to have gone out of him. Did you see how he just accepted all the taunting at the Gathering without standing up for himself?" Jayfeather turned around and pushed the last of his herbs into their places, then turned to face Sandstorm, "There really wasn't much to say against those taunts. The other Clans were in the right. How could Firestar justify attacking a Clan unprovoked due to a dream from StarClan that came from the mouth of an apprentice, an apprentice who could have easily made it up." "Ivypaw didn't make it up!" Sandstorm said in shock. "How do we know that?" Jayfeather challenged. Sandstorm searched for words to retort and ended up at zero. Jayfeather snorted, "There aren't that many herbs that could help Firestar." "You have to do _something_!" Sandstorm gasped. Jayfeather replied, "Tell you what. If Firestar gets worse, come call on me. Until then, there isn't much we can do." Sandstorm sighed, seeing there was no point arguing with the stubborn medicine cat, and left the den.

Ivypaw cried out as Hawkfrost knocked her legs out from under her. "Always be prepared!" Hoawkfrost snarled. Ivypaw got up, still blinking. WHAM! Ivypaw went flying through the air, slamming against a tree. Hawkfrost was about to swipe her again when she was jolted from her dream. "Wake up, Ivypaw!" Dovepaw cried. Ivypaw sat up and blinked. "Jayfeather wants to see you." Ivypaw nodded and trudged to the medicine den. Jayfeather was waiting for her inside. "Who exactly gave you this dream from StarClan?" he asked. Ivypaw tried to sound innocent, "A cat with a starry pelt." "Describe this cat." Jayfeather pressed. Panicking, Ivypaw struggled to come up with a random description, "Tortoiseshell and white she-cat. Green eyes." "Liar." "Huh?" Ivypaw asked. "You didn't get your dream from StarClan, you got it from Tigerstar." "So?" Ivypaw asked defiantly, her nose stuck straight in the air." "I'm guessing you were in the Dark Forest." "Yup." Ivypaw nodded. Jayfeather nearly bowled Ivypaw over. "What is he doing?" "He's trying to repent, he's helping me train to be a better warrior. Other Clan cats are being trained by him." "So he has a strong force for when he takes the Clans." "No!" Ivypaw cried, shocked. Suddenly, there came a yowling. Jayfeather and Ivypaw turned to see WindClan cats streaming into the ThunderClan camp. Like a wave, the ThunderClan warriors met them. Now, WindClan wasn't expecting a strong, well fed Clan, they were expecting a bunch of corpses reeking of flies and crow-food. So they were taken completely by surprise when a huge wave of ThunderClan cats shoved them back out of the camp in no time. Before Ivypaw could twitch a whisker, ThunderClan had won. Several ThunderClan warriors pelted after the WindClan cats, chasing them back to their camp. The remaining ThunderClan cats milled around. Jayfeather turned back to Ivypaw, "Look at all the turmoil you've caused this Clan, Ivypaw!" Jayfeather snarled. Ivypaw left, "I don't have to listen to this!" she called over her shoulder. Jayfeather stared after her, "Oh yes, you do." he muttered softly….

The ThunderClan patrol came back to camp. "There warriors are injured, and we managed to deal a bit of damage to the WindClan camp too, only we didn't hurt kits or elders." Thornclaw reported. "Good." Firestar murmured. "A WindClan warrior was killed, Heathertail. She was nearly killing Squirrelflight, and Lionblaze had to engage and kill her." Firestar's head whipped around and focused on Lionblaze. "Come to my den." He hissed in a deathly soft whisper. Lionblaze padded after Firestar, his tail drooping. Behind them, a heavily bloodied Squirrelflight was being supported into the medicine den.


	4. Lectures and Bad Dreams

**The Fatal War**

**Chapter 4**

Lionblaze sat, butterflies in his stomach, as Firestar shot him a look that could have melted ice, "Lionblaze, I'm glad you saved me the first time, but this has gone too far. Warriors don't kill to win!" Lionblaze contemplated his paws. "What I'm more concerned about is if you mean to do it." Firestar continued. "I don't mean to!" Lionblaze burst out. "Russetfur was all over you! I just dragged her off, and she went dead in my paws! Heathertail-" Lionblaze stopped, choking on words. Firestar stared. 'You may leave!" he barked. Lionblaze trudged out, tail drooping.

Yowls pierced the air. Kits squealed for their mothers. Lionblaze growled and slashed Heathertail, who was attacking Squirrelflight in the face. Suddenly, a weight landed on his back, pinning him down. He turned to find Heathertail snarling in his face. With a bellow of rage, Lionblaze turned into a golden whirlwind, and Heathertail was sucked into the depths. A sickening crack split the air, and Lionblaze felts his claws sink deep into fur, then flesh, and soon his claws had punctured a beating, pumping vessel. Shocked, Lionblaze dug his claws out of Heathertail's fur, even as the heart slowed and stopped. In horror, Lionblaze stared at his work. Heathertail's neck had snapped, and the head hung at a crooked angle. A large pool of blood spread around her, and soon the floors of the WindClan camp were slick with red fluid. _No…. _Lionblaze kept repeating that word in his mind. With a screech, Crowfeather fell on Lionblaze. Lionblaze didn't care. For the first time in his life, Lionblaze was seriously wounded, and by the paws of his own father. He didn't care. He just kept pleading to StarClan, _No…. _"Lionblaze, wake up!" Lionblaze opened his eyes, blinking from the terrible dream, into the soothing eyes of Cinderheart. "You were having a bad dream. You kept yelling, "No!" in your sleep," Cinderheart reported, "It's past sunhigh, you've got to get up." Lionblaze sat up, stretching, hearing his back crack, and trotted into the clearing, the tree that had killed Longtail and crippled Briarlight spanned the camp. Lionblaze went into the medicine den to see Jayfeather. He passed the dark brown pelt of Briarlight rising and falling as she napped.

Lionblaze explained to Jayfeather, but he might as well haven't, because Jayfeather could read his mind. 'You killed Heathertail because you hate her." Jayfeather laid out to Lionblaze. Lionblaze nodded, his breath catching. Jayfeather shrugged, "You shouldn't have killed her, deal with it." "I didn't mean to kill her!" Lionblaze nearly exploded. "Then you should have thought of that before fighting her." Jayfeather retorted. "I was supposed to let her kill Squirrelflight?" Lionblaze asked, appalled. "Since that she-cat is better dead then alive, then yes!" Jayfeather snapped. Squirrelflight, passing outside the medicine den, overheard. "My StarClan…." she breathed. Did everyone hate her? Brambleclaw wanted her dead, and now both of her nephews. She padded away, drowning in despair.

Ivypaw slashed and clawed. It was a Dark Forest training session. As she nastily hooked Snowtuft around the ear, she was shaken from her dreams. "Wake up, Ivypaw! Everyone's talking about you outside!" Groaning, Ivypaw peered into her sister, Dovepaw's unsmiling gaze. "Hurry, Ivypaw!" She whispered anxiously. Ivypaw suddenly heard voices outside the den, "-we can't know Ivypaw did get a dream!" Thornclaw stated. "She could have too!" Brightheart defended Ivypaw. "But how do we know that, Brightheart." Cloudtail's mew came. "She didn't." Growled Jayfeather. A hush came. Now all attention was on Jayfeather. "StarClan told me the sign wasn't from them." Jayfeather snarled. "Who gave Ivypaw the message." Brightheart croaked. "She didn't get any." Jayfeather replied. Ivypaw shook as Jayfeather continued. Dovepaw shot Ivypaw an accusing glare. "Is that true?" She asked. Before Ivypaw could answer, there came a yowl, and ShadowClan scent washed over their noses. More yowls split the air. Dovepaw and Ivypaw ran out of the den to see ShadowClan cats battling ThunderClan. Ivypaw sprang into battle, using all the moves she learned from the Dark Forest. She slammed a ShadowClan cat against the beech tree that spanned the camp, and ripped through the flesh of another. She was a whirlwind of massacre. Every ShadowClan cat that got in her way or stood up to fight her wished they hadn't. Soon all the ShadowClan cats were all but defeated and retreating, and the ThunderClan cats were staring at Ivypaw, wide-eyed. She sent one last ShadowClan cat fleeing for her life. Suddenly yowls of grief pierced the air. Firestar lay dead in the clearing. A while later, while the Clan watched, Firestar groaned and stood up. He turned to Ivypaw, "I saw your moves, Ivypaw. You're a warrior." For a minute all was silent. Then the whole Clan was cheering for Ivypaw, and their yowls reached StarClan.


	5. An Unknown Phenomenon

**The Fatal War**

**Chapter 5**

"I name you Ivypool!"

Cheers came as Ivypool licked Firestar's shoulder as he rested his head on her shoulder. Dovewing, already named, bounded to meet Ivypool,

"I never thought this day would come! We're warriors!" Ivypool nodded, almost in shock. At the edge of the clearing, Lionblaze and Cinderheart were having a quick word.

"Congratulations on Ivypool, Cinderheart." She smiled,

"You too with Dovewing, Lionblaze.

Next night, Ivypool padded into the warriors den for the first time, where two beautifully made nests were already at the edge of the den. The warriors den was significantly smaller in height than the apprentices den, (Ivypool had to duck her head) but it was wider and longer, making more room. She curled in her nest, _I can't wait to tell Hawkfrost I'm a warrior! _she thought before drifting into sleep.

"Congratulations." An icy mew made Ivypool stand up into the cold gaze of Hawkfrost.

"I'm a warrior!"

Hawkfrost nodded and signalled with his tail for her to follow. She trotted after Hawkfrost through the dim depths of the Dark Forest until they came into a clearing. Meows rang through the air as at least fifty cats in the clearing talked. Hawkfrost met an unsmiling Tigerstar before bounding on the ledge.

"Cats of the Place of No Stars! The time has come. ShadowClan is at war with ThunderClan with WindClan backing! Next sunrise is the Gathering! RiverClan may choose a side. We must do something!" Yowls of support came from the crowd.

"First we shall take the cats of ThunderClan until they are all allied with us. Then we shall defeat the other Clans and unite them into one kingdom! A kingdom in the name of the Place of No Stars!" More yowls. Ivypool smiled. First, all of ThunderClan would be trained to be the best Clan. Then they'd unite the other Clans! No more fighting over prey or boundaries as they shared the lake territories. The plan was perfect.

Firestar leapt across the log. He wanted to get to the Gathering early. He bounded onto the branch, glad ThunderClan was the first there. He waited patiently while the other Clans arrived. But before he could speak, Onestar started,

"ThunderClan attacked our camp!" Gasps of shock came.

"Only after you besieged ours, and isn't that what you are supposed to do in _war_?" More shocked gasps.

"At least _we _didn't kill one of _your _warriors in cold-blood!" Some cats in the clearing below actually fainted. Suddenly the clearing was cast in shadow as a storm clod covered the moon. Lightning flashed, thunder crashed, and rain started to pour down.

"RiverClan is at war with ThunderClan!" Mistystar bellowed in Firestar's face,

"I wouldn't stand by a _murdering _Clan." More of the storm came down, and Mistystar took RiverClan home.

Rain lashed the ThunderClan camp. All the cats were huddling in the dens, too scared to go out. Thornclaw and Brackenfur had been sent on an attack patrol in case the other Clans attacked, using the freak weather as cover. Suddenly Thornclaw pelted into camp.

"There's a huge swirling vertical cloud on WindClan territory! It's sucking everything up. Brackenfur nearly got sucked." Brackenfur zoomed in right after.

"It's at the WindClan camp!" he yelled. Firestar was out of his den in a second,

"Could we help in any way?" Brackenfur shook his head,

"It's not even solid."

"Stay in your dens!" Firestar ordered the curious cats.

The rest of the night was spent with the cats in their dens, shivering as they feared the weird phenomenon would cross into ThunderClan territory. Luckily, it never did.

The next day, Firestar sent a patrol into WindClan territory, which consisted of Thornclaw, Brackenfur, Dovewing, and Ivypool. Ivypool was shocked. WindClan territory, once coated in long heather and grass, was now a unturned heap of earth. Then Ivypool and her patrol entered the WindClan camp. The small valley was upturned, and battered and broken bodies were sprawled across the camp. The four ThunderClan cats identified them and buried them in the soil outside the WindClan camp. Webfoot and Tornear, the two WindClan elders, were buried first. Then Kestrelflight, the medicine cat. Was buried, followed by Whiskerpaw, Furzepaw, and Boulderpaw, the apprentices. Then came the warriors, Crowfeather, Owlwhisker, Whitetail, Nightcloud, Gorsetail, Weaselfur, Harespring, Leaftail, Antpelt, Emberfoot, Breezepelt, Sedgewhisker, Swallowtail, and Sunstrike. Then the deputy, Ashfoot. Last was Onestar, who was lowered in his grave with extra care. There were no survivors.

They reported the news back to Firestar. WindClan, an entire Clan, wiped away by a phenomenon that no other cat had heard before. Leafpool went into shock and had to be treated with thyme by a reluctant Jayfeather. Firestar called an emergency Gathering and reported the news to RiverClan and ShadowClan. Purdy had seen one before.

"One went by my old farm once. It was very windy and stormy, but there's not much else I can tell you."

Firestar waited in camp. ThunderClan was rapt at attention. ShadowClan scent filled their noses. A ThunderClan patrol had scent a ShadowClan patrol heading for the camp. Now ThunderClan was on the defence. Firestar had no idea why ShadowClan would attack so soon after the WindClan disaster. Suddenly ShadowClan voices came from outside,

"Heard there was a secret entrance to here." _The secret entrance_! Firestar hadn't put a guard there! Too late! ShadowClan scent was already washing over the camp.


	6. An Injury and a Theory

_Fatal War_

_Chapter 6_

_**Ivypool reared, sending a ShadowClan tom fleeing for his life. Near her, Dovewing was in a battle against four other ShadowClan cats. Ivypool came to help Dovepaw, and soon sent them fleeing for their lives.**_

"_**ShadowClan! Retreat!" came Rowanclaw's yowl. ShadowClan ran from the camp, leaving ThunderClan to lick their wounds.**_

"_**Icecloud, Foxleap, Bumblestripe, and Squirrelflight, follow them!" Brambleclaw ordered. The four warriors pelted out of the camp, fur bristling. Brambleclaw went to confer with Firestar.**_

"_**Why'd they attack us right after the WindClan disaster?"**_

"_**I don't know." Firestar replied, seething.**_

"_**Do they have no respect?" Brambleclaw shrugged. While they talked, Dovewing padded over to Ivypool. **_

"_**We did it!" She exclaimed, breathless. Ivypool nodded, distracted. I can't wait to tell Hawkfrost about this! **_**she thought.**

"**Ivypool?" Ivypool was jolted out of her thoughts, suddenly embarrassed. **

"**S-sorry." She stammered. Dovewing glared at her,**

"**I said, maybe the four cats who chased after ShadowClan might require assistance. We should ask Brambleclaw." Ivypool shrugged,**

"**They'll be okay." Dovewing stared at her,**

"**How can you be so certain?" Ivypool shrugged, **

"**ShadowClan wouldn't attack if they were already beaten." Ivypool pointed out.**

"**I guess your right." Dovewing muttered. Suddenly. A gasp of shock came. ThunderClan cats were crowding around the entrance to the camp.**

"**Lets go see what it is." Dovewing murmured, already heading to the entrance.**

"**Clear the way!" Jayfeather barked, bowling cats aside as he laid down a bunch of herbs at Icecloud's paws.**

"**What happened?" he asked the rest of the patrol.**

"**We caught some WindClan scent on our territory. We thought it might be a survivor, and we followed it, but Icecloud fell into a half-collapsed tunnel and she's complaining about her shoulder and can't walk!" Foxleap breathlessly supplied. Jayfeather barked at Squirrelflight and Bumblestripe,**

"**Well? Carry her to my den." He turned and faced the curious cats facing him. **

"**Buzz off!" He snarled. He padded into his den, where Bumblestripe and Squirrelflight had already prepared a moss bed for him.**

"**Go away!" He snapped to Bumblestripe and Squirrelflight. Taken aback, they turned and left. He turned and snapped to Icecloud,**

"**Tell me what happened." Icecloud started over.**

"**We were chasing ShadowClan, and suddenly we caught some stray WindClan scent. We followed it to WindClan territory. Suddenly, the ground gave way beneath me, and I landed in a pit. Foxleap had to come down on a vine and pull me up. I couldn't walk after, this shoulder gave way every time I put weight on it." Jayfeather inspected the shoulder. **

"**It's wrenched." he announced. "Be right back." He padded back into camp and began feeling around in the sticks that were leftover from the fallen beech tree. He found a thick one and walked back into the medicine den.**

"**This might hurt, so you may have to bite down on this stick to keep the pain under control." Icecloud accepted the stick gratefully. **

"**3...2...1...BITE!" Jayfeather announced. Then he jammed Icecloud's shoulder back into place. Icecloud didn't bite down on the stick in time.**

"**YOUCH!" She hollered. Jayfeather took out a comfrey leaf and began wrapping it around Icecloud's shoulder to keep it in place.**

"**Where were the tunnels exactly?" He asked casually as he worked. His blood froze as Icecloud described the exact place Hollyleaf had died.**

"**It's weird," she continued, "the stick you gave me had scratches on it." **_**Scratches? **_**Jayfeather grabbed the stick and began feeling it. It was **_**his stick**_**, and it had Hollyleaf's scent on it, but her scent was WindClan. **_**What does this mean? **_**he thought. Suddenly, he knew. He gave a poppy seed to Icecloud,**

"**Stay here for tonight, and **_**don't **_**move that shoulder." Icecloud nodded. Jayfeather padded outside. Tonight was half-moon, so he had to go to the Moonpool. Tonight of all nights, when he had to talk to Lionblaze **_**and **_**Thornclaw. He headed for the hills, but when he arrived at the Moonpool, no one was there. He shrugged and touched his nose to the water, falling into sleep.**

"**Wake up!" Jayfeather was in StarClan, the luxurious realm of cats who had passed. Yellowfang's raspy voice came to him again. **

"**You must break all ties to the other Clans.," Yellowfang rasped, "The other ancestors told the other Clan's medicine cat's and that's why their not here tonight. Stop coming to the Moonpool." **

"**Why?" Jayfeather asked. **

"**Stop coming…." Jayfeather woke with a start. **_**Damn you, StarClan!**_** he cursed, **_**Nothing is ever straight answers from you! **_**He padded back to camp, terribly demoralized.**

"**Good job on your battle today, Ivypool." Hawkfrost commented. Ivypool was in the circle of 75 Dark Forest warriors. Among the new warriors, Thornclaw, Squirrelflight, and Leafpool were in the Dark Forest. Ivypool smiled. Once all of ThunderClan was trained, they'd teach the other Clans to unite, and it would all be one. No more fighting. **

"**We'll be learning some more water fighting today." Hawkfrost leered. He took them to the slimy pool of tar that Ivypool had practiced in time and time again.**

"**Remember what I told you about not unsheathing your claws in the water, because the stones could rip them out?" Hawkfrost asked. Ivypool nodded. **

"**How do you think you can make your own opponent unsheathe his or hers?" Hawkfrost asked. Everyone was at a loss for words. "You stand up on your hind paws, unsheathe your front claws, and attack him or her with all you've got. Your opponent will unsheathe their claws for a better grip! Then you dive down and knock a stone loose, and his claws are gone, and beating him is easy!" Hawkfrost crowed.**

"**Now, lets divide you into pairs…."**

**By the end of the night, the training session was over. Ivypool had been paired with Leafpool, and Leafpool was missing a claw to prove it. She had actually been pretty pathetic. Ivypool finished the training on the happy note that conquest by the Dark Forest was soon…very soon….**


	7. A Serious Investigation

**The Fatal War**

**Chapter 7**

"Lionblaze!" Jayfeather whispered. Lionblaze woke up.

"It's moonhigh, for StarClan's sake! What do you want?" he growled. Jayfeather ushered him out.

"Follow me." He ordered. He lead Lionblaze through ThunderClan territory, coming to the tunnels where Hollyleaf died.

"When I was treating Icecloud, I gave her a stick from the beech tree to bite down on to make the pain more bearable. She noted afterward the stick had scratches on it. I checked, and it happened to be one of the pieces of MY stick. It had Hollyleaf's scent on it, but it was mixed with WindClan scent. I figured she might have joined WindClan as a rogue, but then Crowfeather might have recognized her, so she killed him, and used the weird phenomenon that wiped WindClan out as a cover story." Lionblaze stared,

"How can you know all this?" Jayfeather bowed his head,

"Just a guess." He admitted.

"What if the stick wasn't yours, and it DID come from the beech, and some WindClan cat with a scent similar to Hollyleaf's trespassed without us knowing?"

"I walk by where that beech tree used to be on my way to get herbs every day. There's NO WindClan scent, and I know Hollyleaf's scent when I smell it." Jayfeather snapped, hopping into the hole. He searched around, feeling. Suddenly he felt Hollyleaf's scent wash over him. He found a tuft of fur with Hollyleaf's scent on it! He showed it to Lionblaze.

"It's black." He confirmed. Lionblaze headed over to the mass of rocks where Hollyleaf was supposedly buried. He sniffed. If Hollyleaf was under there, he'd smell her scent and decay. He didn't smell decay, but smelt her scent overwhelmingly.

"This place is giving me the creeps." Lionblaze announced. He bunched his legs, hopped back up, and tossed a tendril to Jayfeather. He found it, climbed up, and the two headed back to camp. Back in the tunnel, Hollyleaf stared from between the other side of the rock pile. "If only you knew my plan…."

Jayfeather tucked the fur into a crack in the medicine den and got into his nest, tossing and turning, but sleep wouldn't come. What did all this mean?

Next morning, Jayfeather talked to Thornclaw.

"I have reason to suspect that Crowfeather, and possibly Nightcloud and Breezepelt, were murdered by another cat. May I see their bodies?"

"What reason?" Thornclaw challenged.

"Stuff too personal for me to explain."

"Then don't expect to see the bodies anytime soon." Thornclaw snarled. Jayfeather growled.

"What is going on out here?" Firestar came out of his den, glowing authority.

"Somehow Thornclaw doesn't seem to respect his Clan medicine cat." Jayfeather snarled.

"Jayfeather has reason to believe a few of the WindClan cats were murdered, but he won't tell me his reasons."

"Silence!" Firestar demanded. He stared hard at Jayfeather and Thornclaw.

"Thornclaw, you should respect your medicine cat. But Jayfeather, why all the secrecy?"

"Jayfeather seems to think the reasons are private." Thornclaw jeered. Firestar stared at Jayfeather,

"Well Jayfeather, until we know why your accusing all these people, your not permitted to go to the bodies." By now several cats had gathered around to watch. Jayfeather couldn't hold it back any longer,

"Hollyleaf! When I was treating Icecloud, I gave her a stick to bite down on to make the pain of the operation more bearable, and afterwards, she noticed it was scratched. It had Hollyleaf's scent on it when I inspected it, but it was mixed with WindClan. The WindClan scent was strong as well as the scent of blood, and Crowfeather. I figured she could have murdered Crowfeather. She had become deranged, especially after killing Ashfur-" gasps of shock came, but Jayfeather ignored them,

"so he wouldn't tell everyone at the Gathering about Squirrelflight's secret, but then she told it and tried to run away and make a new life through the tunnel network underneath the territories, but the tunnel which happened to be the one Icecloud fell into collapsed, killing her, or so we thought. Lionblaze and I searched the tunnel last night, her scent was overwhelming, along with WindClan scent, but there was no stench of decay, which there would have been if she had been crushed." Everyone stared at Jayfeather, Firestar glared. "You may meet me in my den _this instant_! Then we'll see about the bodies." Jayfeather padded, his head held high, into Firestar's den. Leafpool stared from across the clearing. _He knows! _she thought panicked. Squirelflight and Brambleclaw were thinking the same thing.


	8. Bodies, Bodies Everywhere

**Fatal War**

**Chapter 8**

"Jayfeather, I am shocked. Shocked and disappointed. Why didn't you tell me what happened?" Firestar inquired. Jayfeather bristled,

"I'm supposed to tell everyone that my sister is a crazy freak who murdered her own Clanmate and tried to flee in cowardice afterwards? I think our story of her chasing a squirrel into the tunnels was better."

"_Our_?" Firestar asked.

"Mine and Lionblaze's." Jayfeather replied. Firestar took a breath,

"Why'd she kill Ashfur?" Jayfeather sighed,

"On the night of the fire, me, Lionblaze, Hollyleaf, and Squirrelflight were trapped in the camp. We tried to escape through the secret exit, but Ashfur blocked our way. He said he loved Squirrelflight, and when she chose Brambleclaw over him, he felt indescribable pain. He said he could let me, Lionblaze, and Hollyleaf die so she could feel the same pain he did. Squirrelflight saved us by telling them we were not her kits. Ashfur let us live, but said he would reveal it at the next Gathering. Hollyleaf, who was die-hard follower of the warrior code, couldn't let that happen, so she killed him. Then she revealed it at the Gathering since she found out Leafpool and Crowfeather was her mother, she wanted to get even with her, She couldn't bear to be a kit of a medicine cat and another Clan's warrior, so she ran away through the tunnel network, but she got killed when the tunnel collapsed on her. The tunnel Icecloud fell in was that tunnel, so me and Lionblaze searched it the other sunrise and found a tuft of her fur, but no scent of crow-food, even when we dug through all the rubble. Hollyleaf may be alive."

Firestar nodded,

"Do you want me to send a search patrol in the tunnels for Hollyleaf?"

"I'd prefer seeing those WindClan bodies first, but yes." Jayfeather replied. Firestar bowed his head,

"Very well. I'll see that Thornclaw digs them up with you."

Ivypool opened her eyes into the familiar blackness of the dark Forest. She stretched and came into the clearing. She gasped. _It was a Clan_! Cats talked and meowed, and Ivypool saw Leafpool, Squirrelflight, Brambleclaw, Thornclaw, and Blossomfall all in the Dark Forest. They greeted her, but nothing else. Brokenstar leapt onto the rock in the center,

"I have been observing your progress. Me and Hawkfrost decided to chose two of you at random to present your fighting skills against each other. We chose Ivypool and Blossomfall." Ivypool came forward and faced the tortoiseshell and white she-cat. Inside her mind was whirling, _How am I supposed to fight my own Clanmate_?

"Begin!" Brokenstar yowled. Blossomfall raced forward and clawed at Ivypool's front. Ivypool, taken by surprise, leapt out of the way, then leapt back, bringing both sheathed paws down on Blossomfall's head. Dazed, Blossomfall stumbled and swiped the air. Ivypool ducked and dove under Blossomfall, knocking her paws out from under her and sliding out of the way, then stood up and prepared to leap.

"Enough!" Brokenstar barked. He came down and glared at them,

"Good fighting, Ivypool." He turned to stare at Blossomfall,

"I expected more out of _you_, though."

"She fought well." Ivypool defended,

"It was a hard fight." Brokenstar growled. For a moment all was silent.

"Easy, Brokenstar, they both fought well." Ivypool turned to see Mapleshade leering down,

"I actually expected _less _out of Blossomfall." She continued,

"She put up a good fight." Blossomfall grunted and stood up, flashing a grateful glance to Mapleshade.

"Very well," Brokenstar grumbled, "on with training!"

Jayfeather inspected Crowfeather's body, and sure enough, he found two neat holes at his throat.

"He was murdered." Jayfeather announced. He sniffed at the wound, "By Hollyleaf!" Firestar nodded, and Thornclaw growled. Firestar and Jayfeather had already explained everything to the golden brown tabby. They continued to search, and sure enough, Breezepelt was dead, killed by Brambleclaw, and Squirrelflight and Leafpool had killed Nightcloud. Firestar was shocked that his deputy and kits were murderers. He trudged back to camp, while Jayfeather and Thornclaw struggled to carry the dead evidence. Firestar leapt onto the Highledge,

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join beneath the Highledge for a Clan meeting." His voice was hollow and empty. Everyone was already assembled, curious about the bodies.

"Jayfeather and Thornclaw dug up the bodies of Crowfeather, Nightcloud, and Breezepelt. He found their were teeth and claw marks on their bodies. They also carried more decay. Brambleclaw, do you confess to the crime of killing Breezepelt, as it was your scent on his body!" Brambleclaw bowed his head,

"I do."

"Mind telling us _why_?" Firestar asked. Brambleclaw looked up,

"Jayfeather probably told you the story to convince him to let him look at the bodies. I hated anyone involved, including my nephew. I planned with those two crow-food eaters Leafpool and Squirrelflight to kill Nightcloud. We killed her, and later in the night after those two had left, it was a night raid, I killed Breezepelt. We slipped back into camp at the same time the phenomenon struck. We couldn't find Crowfeather in camp." Firestar nodded.

"What shall the punishment be for these cats?" It came as a loud wail, drowning out everything else,

"EXECUTION!"


	9. Execution

**Fatal War**

**Chapter 9**

**Author's Note**

**Okay everyone, you're in for a surprise. You know how I usually update every two days, because on the days I don't update my FanFiction stories I'm updating my FictionPress stories? Well today is the start of my Easter break. So now, starting tomorrow, I'm updating every day, and it goes all the way to Monday, May the 2****nd****. That's 10 days of nothing but daily updates! My Easter Marathon! It's the same on FictionPress for my stories. 10 days of nothing but daily updates! Now let's get on with the story.**

"Why not just banish us?" Squirrelflight asked, real fear in her voice.

"You know what happened back in the old forest, I've told the story to you a million times." Mousefur snapped,

"If we simply banish you, you could return and continue to murder our warriors and perform guerrilla warfare on us!"

"All in favour of execution?" Firestar choked, barely managing to get the words out. Jayfeather, who had come out to watch, had mixed emotions. _The sooner Squirrelflight and Leafpool are in StarClan, the better, _he thought, _but Brambleclaw never tried to hurt us. Yet he _is _a murderer, so he should die. It was my _real _father and brother he killed, as well as my stepmother. But what about Firestar?_ _He's ordering the execution of his own daughters and his deputy and former apprentice. He'll lose the will to live. _But deep down Jayfeather knew that these cats should be somewhere that wasn't here, and execution seemed to be the best way to send them away. He yowled his support for execution. Firestar bowed his head as he Clan called for execution.

"Build a prison for them and establish a guard." He told Graystripe,

"I'll be choosing the new deputy soon." Firestar swept into his den, tail drooping, and cautiously followed by Sandstorm. Jayfeather went back into his den and sorted through his scant herb supply, looking for something that would help Firestar. He found a bit of coltsfoot and juniper berries for breathing troubles, feverfew and lavender if he got fever or chills, and thyme and poppy seed for shock and to help him sleep. He wrapped it in a leaf and carried it in his jaws to Firestar's den. In there, Firestar was sitting, staring into space, and otherwise doing nothing. Sandstorm was pacing near him,

"I think he's in shock." She whispered. Jayfeather nodded and unwrapped the leaf, spilling the contents onto the den floor. He started to chew up a few of the thyme leaves into a pulp, and then sprinkled the concoction with poppy seeds. He took the mixture to Firestar,

"Eat." He ordered. Firestar stared at him blankly, and then dipped his head to lap up the pulp. His breathing slowed, and soon his was in a deep sleep. Jayfeather put a paw on his head. A little warm, but it was probably okay. He turned to Sandstorm,

"I'm going to leave these herbs here so if there is an emergency, I can run over here and be ready. Tell me if anything bad happens." Sandstorm nodded, and Jayfeather left the den. The sun was setting, and Jayfeather wondered if putting Firestar to sleep was a bad idea. After all, he had to be awake before moonhigh to name the next deputy. In the clearing below, Graystripe was organizing the building of a prison den. The den was made entirely out of brambles and thorns, and the entrance was so small even a kit would have trouble getting in. That way, if the guard fell asleep, it was more likely than not that the prisoners would catch their pelts on thorns while trying to push outside. It would probably cause rustling, so the guard would awaken, and it hurt, so they might yell, which would awaken the whole Clan. Another group of cats had put three stumps of wood near the edge of the camp, and tied three vines to overhanging branches. The vines were tied halfway down with loops to strangle the poor cat being executed.

As the moon rose, it was blotted out by clouds, and snow came down, the first of leaf-bare. The three cats to be executed were herded over to the stumps. Squirrelflight kicked and hollered, but Brambleclaw and Leafpool were silent as they stepped onto the stumps and the loops were put around their neck. They were tightened, and Squirrelflight and Leafpool were hoisted into the air, followed by Brambleclaw. Squirrelflight's begging was cut off as her windpipe constricted and collapsed. Moments later, a loud SNAP! Was heard. Brambleclaw came crashing to the ground. He choked and wheezed, writhing in agony, but the vines had already done their job in permanently damaging Brambleclaw's windpipe. He stopped writhing, and soon died on the ground. The bodies of Leafpool and Squirrelflight were lowered to the ground, and Brambleclaw's was kicked in front of the Highledge just as Firestar emerged. He leapt up onto the Highledge and started to speak,

"I say…words before…body…ambleclaw…spirit…hear…approve…choice…Lionblaze…" The rest was drowned out by the howling wind, but everyone heard. Lionblaze was the new deputy of ThunderClan! At that moment the wind died, the snow stopped, and the clouds cleared the sky, revealing the moon straight up. It was moonhigh. Firestar had named the new deputy just in time. Firestar turned and headed back into his den.

The next day all the cats in ThunderClan woke early. Lionblaze was out organizing the dawn patrols for the first time.

"Mousefur, Purdy, could you go bury the bodies?" The elders went to bury them without complaint. Lionblaze turned,

"Thornclaw, you lead a patrol along the ShadowClan border. Take Ivypool, Sorreltail, and Brackenfur. I'll lead a patrol along the border with WindClan. Just because WindClan is wiped out doesn't mean there are rogues in their territory trying to cross into ours. I'll take Cinderheart, Whitewing, and Graystripe. Dovewing, you can lead a hunting patrol. Take who you want. Dustpelt, can you take some cats to demolish the prison den and execution devices, since we won't need them anymore." All the cats sprang to action and started to follow Lionblaze's orders. Lionblaze kinked his tail over his back. The rest of his patrol understood the signal and followed him. They were right along the WindClan border, setting markers, when Lionblaze suddenly held his tail erect. The rest of the patrol stopped. Lionblaze rippled his tail, and they slowly started to follow him. Lionblaze sniffed at the scent that passed from WindClan into ThunderClan. He knew that scent anywhere. He had grown up with it always by him.

"Hello, dear brother." Lionblaze shot around. Emerald eyes stared into his, and the thin black pelt hung under a scrawny ribcage. Hollyleaf.


	10. Hollyleaf and Firestar say Goodbye

**Fatal War**

**Chapter 10**

Lionblaze gaped. Graystripe, Whitewing, and Cinderheart cautiously approached.

"H-Hollyleaf?" Cinderheart breathed. Lionblaze suddenly noticed a bunch of cats of all shapes, sizes, and colours behind them. There were enough to match all of ThunderClan's warriors. Hollyleaf sneered,

"Yes, it's me, Cinderheart." For a moment there was silence. Then,

"Who are your friends, Hollyleaf?" Graystripe asked kindly, hoping to soothe the tension between all these cats. Hollyleaf flicked her tail,

"Oh, a few acquaintances I've met." Tension simply increased. Finally, after what seemed like moons, Hollyleaf spoke again,

"I guess you want to know what happened after the tunnel incident." Lionblaze nodded.

"Well, I ran in the tunnel, and the entrance collapsed behind me. I was hit by quite a few falling rocks, and I was seriously wounded. I crawled away, but didn't get far. I was almost dead when I was found by a cat all of us have met." Hollyleaf said. Then Lionblaze recognized the cat standing directly behind Hollyleaf. Sol.

The cats marched Hollyleaf into the ThunderClan camp. Sol had followed without complaint, but a few of the other rogues had tried to fight, but a quick word from Hollyleaf had silenced them. Many cats were curious about the party of cats that doubled the ThunderClan camp's population, but they were soon all squeezed into Firestar's den for questioning. Jayfeather took the time when Firestar was occupied to look for herbs. But first he needed an escort. He bounded over to the first cat he saw,

"Whitewing! I'm going out to look for herbs, and I need an escort!" Whitewing nodded, and after finishing her conversation with Dovewing, bounded over to the entrance and waited for Jayfeather, When they were out of camp, Whitewing asked,

"What herbs do we need?"

"Pretty much everything except yarrow," Jayfeather replied,

"but we need catmint the most. I lost too much over Ivypool." Jayfeather suddenly regretted choosing Whitewing to come, because her nostrils flared at the suggestion it was her daughter's fault because of the yarrow lost. Jayfeather, however, never backed down without a fight.

"Well, it's true!" Jayfeather snapped. Whitewing was still visibly angry, but she had nothing to say after that. Jayfeather took the moment of silence to search under a juniper bush. He hadn't expected anything, but under the bush he found two juniper berries. He searched with his paws, found a leaf, and wrapped them up. Then, as he sniffed the bush, he realized it hadn't succumbed to leaf-bare yet, and was covered in juniper berries! He unwrapped the leaf with the first two juniper berries and added dozens more. Whitewing produced her own leaf, and started following Jayfeather's example. Soon there were four bulging leaf-wraps, and they couldn't have been able to pick up anymore herbs if they tried. _Thank StarClan_, Jayfeather thought, _but too bad it was only juniper. That's only good for bellyaches and breathing troubles. At least we have _something, _though_. As Jayfeather padded out of the medicine den after depositing all those juniper berries with Whitewing, he smelled Hollyleaf coming out of Firestar's den. _Finally_! Jayfeather thought as he bounded over to her,

"Hollyleaf! How are you!" Hollyleaf seemed depressed when she answered,

"Okay, I guess."

"What is wrong?" Jayfeather asked. Hollyleaf turned, anger flaring,

"Firestar says I cannot stay in ThunderClan! After all of my work and suffering trying to come back here and be accepted, Firestar says I can't because I killed Ashfur, and that's breaking the code that a warrior doesn't need to win. Well, in this case, I think it did, and I had always been trying to protect my Clan before that, and I was still trying, and…." She stopped.

"Firestar says that if any of his warriors catch me on ThunderClan territory after the sun sets tonight, they have permission to kill me." Already the sun was sinking. Hollyleaf straightened,

"Goodbye, Jayfeather." She left the ThunderClan camp, Sol in tow, and behind them, a huge band of rogues following. Jayfeather stared after her, all his energy draining from him. He would probably never see his beloved sister again.

"Firestar, what are you doing!" Lionblaze and Jayfeather were in the leader's den. If looks could kill, Firestar would melt like snow in newleaf.

"Why did you banish Hollyleaf?" Jayfeather asked. Firestar stared at them,

"She killed Ashfur. I did it for her own safety. How could she ever be accepted into ThunderClan again?" Suddenly Jayfeather saw Firestar's method behind his madness. Firestar shared his point of view on Hollyleaf. He thought she was innocent, but would the _Clan _think that? They would shun Hollyleaf. It was probably better off she was living as a rogue.

"I was a little troubled when she seemed glad Squirrelflight and Leafpool were dead, but I assure you, that did not affect my decision."

"That's good, because you would have had to banish us too if it did, because we were too!" Lionblaze snarled. Firestar revealed a red ball hooked on his claw.

"Deathberry." He explained.

"Found it when I went hunting one day." He stared at Jayfeather,

"StarClan sent me a message. It's my time to go." He popped the deathberry in his mouth. Jayfeather turned and bolted out of the den, across the camp, into the medicine den, grabbed all the stinging nettle seeds and yarrow he could find, ran out of the medicine den without bothering to wrap it in a leaf, bolted back across the camp, herbs flying, and was back in Firestar's den. By Twoleg time standards the process took a second and a half. Jayfeather ripped open Firestar's jaws and dumped some stinging nettle seeds down the hatch. He then chewed up yarrow faster than he'd ever chewed before, and stuffed the pulp down Firestar's throat. Firestar coughed and choked, and for a second it seemed he was going to be OK. Then he keeled over and his breathing slowed and stopped. Jayfeather stared. Then he bounded back to the medicine den, grabbed some juniper berries, bolted back, and stuffed them down Firestar's hatch. Too late. Firestar was with StarClan.


	11. Lionstar's Nine Lives

**Fatal War**

**Chapter 11**

Jayfeather padded out of the den and laid Firestar in the clearing. Curiosity quickly became horror as the cats gathered around. Jayfeather hung his head,

"I did all I could." Sandstorm flung herself on top of Firestar and sobbed openly. Graystripe, always Firestar's best friend in life, blinked back his own tears as he stared disbelieving at his body. Mousefur padded up and rasped,

"I doubted him in the beginning, but he proved me wrong. He was a great leader." No one asked how Firestar had died. _He was already sick_, Jayfeather thought, _they probably assume he died of just that_. Moe sobbing came as the whole Clan learned about Firestar's death. Ivypool was shocked, her eyes wide. Dovewing cried quietly. Daisy, Purdy, Millie, and all the others who Firestar had let into the Clan had to suffer more, since they wouldn't have gotten in if were another leader in charge at the time. Lionblaze, soon to be the new leader, just stared blankly.

Mousefur hauled the bright orange body and dumped it into the pit she and Purdy had dug. The whole Clan was there, and each took turns putting pawfuls of soil on the body. Some whispered messages to the body, but most were silent. Jayfeather had had to give all his thyme and poppy seeds to Sandstorm, and she was going to sleep through the funeral. Jayfeather thought it would be better that way. After everyone had put their pawfuls on, they stood back and were silent for a few moments. Then they turned and trudged back into the camp.

Ivypool walked through the Dark Forest, dazed. How could Firestar be dead? She was so preoccupied she didn't notice Hawkfrost knock her paws out from under her.

"You have to pay attention!" He roared. Ivypool scrambled up,

"Sorry. I'm just preoccupied. Firestar died." Hawkfrost nodded,

"And just how did he?" Ivypool stared back with questioning eyes.

"He killed himself! He ingested a deathberry! I must admire Jayfeather though," Hawkfrost nodded,

"He was from Firestar's den to his den and back to Firestar's den faster than you could blink. He's a gifted medicine cat. Unfortunately, he's not gifted enough…."

Ivypool woke with a start. What did Hawkfrost mean by 'not gifted enough?' She turned over a went back into a restless sleep. For the first time in many night, she did not visit the Dark Forest.

Jayfeather grumbled as Lionblaze kept falling behind.

"Hurry up!" He snapped,

"I'm supposed to be the blind one."

"Coming!" Lionblaze called. After some more slow traveling, they finally arrived at the Moonpool.

"Just drink from the pool, tip your nose in the water, and snooze." Jayfeather snapped. Lionblaze padded unsteadily down to the pool and did what Jayfeather said. Soon he was sucked into a deep sleep….

Lionblaze groggily opened his eyes. In front of him stood the ranks of StarClan. There starry pelts glittered, and soon there was a cat padding up to Lionblaze. Lionblaze squinted, and then realized it was Russetfur.

"With this life I give you courage. Use it to defend your Clanmates in battle." An insane pain seared Lionblaze as Russetfur touched noses. She backed away, and the unbearable pain ceased. And Lionblaze was supposed to go through eight more of these? How did Firestar do it? He searched to form words,

"Uh, I'm sorry for killing you after you went for Firestar." Russetfur shrugged,

"I was going to become an elder soon anyway." She backed off, and another dark gray pelt came forward. _Crowfeather_!

"With this life I give you wisdom. Use it to make good decisions for your Clan." He backed away. The pain this time didn't hurt as much, it was more of a feeling. A _determined _feeling. Another dark pelt came forward. Nightcloud.

"With this life I give you fairness. Use it to judge your Clanmates fairly." She backed away. This hurt, but not as much as the first one. A _third _dark pelt came forward. Breezepelt.

"With this life I give you desire for peace. Use it to stay out of conflict with other Clans and within your own." Another feeling came over him, not a pain, but it was sort of determined, like Crowfeather's. Next came a dark brown tabby with amber eyes. Brambleclaw.

"With this life I give you mentoring. Use it to teach your Clanmates your point of view, but don't forget to listen to theirs. Use it also to pass on knowledge from generation to generation." Another burning fire ripped through Lionblaze, rattling his bones. Brambleclaw stepped away, and was replaced by Firestar.

"With this life I give you kinship. Use it to understand other cats, and share a sense of kinship with _them_." Lionblaze was blasted by pain, but he was puzzled. Firestar seemed to be aiming to unite the Clans. That would never happen. Firestar stepped away and was replaced by Squirrelflight.

"With this life I give you defence. Use it to defend your Clan like a mother would defend her kits." Lionblaze was zapped by so much pain it left him gasping for breath. At least there were only two lives left. Squirrelflight left and was replaced by Heathertail.

"With this life I give you love, so that you may show it to all, especially Cinderheart." She smiled at him before leaving, and was replaced by the one cat Lionblaze would never dream of getting a life from.

"With this life I give you knowledge, so that you may keep it and yet share it, and all the Clans shall benefit." Leafpool smiled before continuing,

"I hail you as Lionstar, leader of ThunderClan."


	12. New Deputy

_**Fatal War**_

_**Chapter 12**_

_Lionstar bounded back into the camp and settled in the leader's den, where Firestar's scent was still stale. He didn't want a bunch of his Clanmates getting on his nerves by asking him how it went. He tossed and turned, hoping to get a few winks before dawn, but he couldn't get used to the new den. It was so big and empty. After a few more unsuccessful attempts at sleep, he decided to get focused on what he had to do. First, he needed to choose a deputy, but his mind went blank. His mind was screaming for Thornclaw. He always led patrols and had good leadership qualities, but he was a little aggressive, and something else was warning him away from Thornclaw. After some more tossing and turning, he decided it was nothing. Thornclaw will make a good deputy_. He thought, Satisfied with his choice, he settled back down to rest. Then it hit him like a terrified mouse. CHERRYKIT! MOLEKIT! They were supposed to become apprentices today! In a flash, Lionstar was out of his den to see the Clan already gathering beneath Highledge. He prepared himself, recalling the words Firestar had spoken when he was made an apprentice. Cheerykit and Molekit were already sitting beneath the Highledge, their pelts groomed flat. They were both bursting with excitement. Cherrykit kept fidgeting, absentmindedly clawing at a pinecone. Molekit kept messing up his lovingly groomed pelt. _He doesn't want to look like that_, Lionstar thought, _lets hurry and get this over with_. He cleared his throat,

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join beneath the Highledge for a Clan meeting!" The call was unnecessary, as everyone was already clustered beneath the Highledge. Lionstar hadn't had any time to create his own call to start Clan meetings, so he'd just go with Firestar's old one.

"By naming apprentices, we show that ThunderClan will survive and remain strong. Cherrykit, from now on you will be known as Cherrypaw. Sorreltail, you are ready for an apprentice. You will be Cherrypaw's mentor." Lionstar bounded down and rested his head on Cherrypaw's shoulder. In turn, Cherry paw licked his shoulder, then went to stand by Sorreltail.

"Molekit, from now on you will be known as Molepaw. Blossomfall, you are ready for an apprentice. You will be Molepaw's mentor." Lionstar and Molepaw did the same thing Lionstar did with Cherrypaw. Molepaw went to stand by Blossomfall.

"Cherrypaw! Molepaw! Cherrypaw! Molepaw!" The Clan called. Lionstar bounded to the center of the clearing.

"Until I name the deputy tonight, I'm in charge of the dawn border patrols. The new deputy should be organizing the sunset ones. I want Thornclaw to lead a patrol on the ShadowClan border. Take Bumblestripe and Foxleap. Cinderheart, take the WindClan border and search for rogues, loners, or kittypets. Take Toadstep and Icecloud." The six cats bounded out of the clearing, leaving Lionstar to head back to his den. _Now for the boring part_, he thought, _Clan leaders are supposed to stay in seclusion in their dens from the rest of the Clan_. He settled himself in the den preparing for a boring day. Around sunhigh the patrols returned and reported to him. No trouble on the WindClan border, but they caught some ShadowClan scent over the line, but Thornclaw recognized it to be Ferretpaw's, and they assumed that he had accidentally strayed over the border. Lionstar decided to focus on listening to the sounds of the bustling ThunderClan camp. He was amused when Cherrypaw's first apprentice assignment was hunting, but Molepaw's was clearing the ticks out of the elder's fur. He kicked and hollered, and they finally arrived in the elder's den only to find that Mousefur and Purdy had been bored earlier and done their ticks themselves. So now Molepaw was training with Cherrypaw. As the moon rose, Lionstar came out of the den and prepared to name the new deputy. He didn't bother to call the meeting call, everyone was already assembled.

"Thornclaw will be the new deputy of ThunderClan." Cats piled on Thornclaw, congratulating him as Lionstar looked on. Lionstar stared, as a worm still gnawed in his belly. Had he made the right choice making Thornclaw the deputy? _Of course I did_, he thought, _it's nothing_. He settled himself down for an unsettling sleep.


	13. To the Mountains

**Fatal War **

**Chapter 13**

Ivypool opened her eyes wide as Hawkfrost stared at her.

"Come." He beckoned. Ivypool trotted after Hawkfrost into the clearing she had been in so many times. She felt a pang as she realized Brambleclaw, Squirrelflight, and Leafpool were in the Dark Forest, training, not in StarClan where they should be. Ivypool swept her gaze over at least a hundred Dark Forest cats until she came to the golden brown tabby tom she feared would be here. Thornclaw, the deputy of ThunderClan, was training in the Dark Forest.

"I will be splitting you into pairs. Do whatever you already know against each other. I shall survey the fighting." Ivypool was paired with Thornclaw. While they were fighting, Thornclaw suddenly pulled her into the bushes.

"You've got to stop coming here Ivypool! This place is evil!"

"I know!" Ivypool shot back,

"I'm Lionstar's spy for this place!" Thornclaw relaxed.

"Good." He muttered….

Ivypool woke with a start. She immediately bounded to Lionstar's den, nodding to Thornclaw as he came out of the warrior's den to start up the dawn patrols.

"Lionstar!" Lionstar woke up, annoyed at being awakened at such an early hour.

"Thornclaw is training in the Dark Forest!" Lionstar was up, suddenly awake.

"It's okay." She told Lionstar when he started cursing under his breath,

"He's spying for us, just like me. He told me at last night's session." Lionstar visibly relaxed,

"Tell him I want to meet him once he's done organizing the patrols." Ivypool nodded then added,

"And Lionstar? Brambleclaw, Squirrelflight, and Leafpool are all in the Dark Forest."

"But that's impossible! I know I'm not allowed to speak of the experiences at the Moonpool when I become leader, but I'll tell you all three of them were in StarClan!"

"Maybe they are spying for StarClan, sort of like me and Thornclaw with ThunderClan." Ivypool suggested. Lionstar nodded, but he still looked troubled as Ivypool left the den.

The attack came so quickly no one noticed it. First the ShadowClan border patrol returned, screaming of a ShadowClan invasion. Sure enough, ShadowClan cats were pouring into the camp right after. The result was an extremely bloody battle. Ivypool was beginning to tire out as she raked her claws across a ShadowClan face, shredding it. She, Thornclaw, and Lionstar were the stars of the fight. Whenever a cat got in their way, he was quickly mowed down. Yet it seemed the ShadowClan cats were endless as wave after wave smashed into the ThunderClan camp. The bramble barrier collapsed. The ShadowClan cats who went over the high edge if the precipice fell screaming to their deaths. The ones on the lower end scrambled in safely to attack ThunderClan. Soon ThunderClan was surrounded, but they wouldn't give In. Ivypool slashed and clawed, sending two more ShadowClan cats flying through the air. Finally, ThunderClan began to gain ground as ShadowClan was forced back. Soon it was ShadowClan who was surrounded, and the ThunderClan cats hemmed them into a corner of the camp, until suddenly their was a gasp of shock.

"Surrender! We surrender!" Rowanclaw called as he bent over a ShadowClan body. He suddenly snaked his paws around a long thin being slithering away, and bit down on it. Jayfeather rushed forward.

"It's the snake that killed Honeyfern!" Poppyfrost cried as she stared at the long limp body. Jayfeather backed away.

"I'd love to help if I could," He drawled sarcastically,

"but our stupid leader Firestar ate a deathberry, so I wasted all my yarrow and stinging nettle seeds on him, which was in vain, he was on his last life and died, and now Lionstar is our leader." The ShadowClan cat on the ground, who Jayfeather scented as Tawnypelt, keeled over and started to gasp for breath. Then her breath left her. Lionstar went right up to Rowanclaw's face,

"Go back to your camp. You know what's waiting for you if you ever attack us again." Rowanclaw stood there for a few moments. Then he dragged his mate's body away and out of the ThunderClan camp. The remaining ShadowClan cats collected the dead ones near the steep precipice and followed Rowanclaw's suit. Soon the clearing was empty.

Jayfeather tossed and turned in his dream. Squirrelflight awaited him, stars glittering in her pelt.

"The Tribe of Rushing Water needs your help. You must go."

Squirrelflight faded away like mist in sunshine, and Jayfeather awoke gasping. He rushed into Lionstar's den and blabbed to him about the message he had received. Lionstar nodded,

"You can go," he answered,

"but take Dovewing and Foxleap with you, just to be safe." Jayfeather nodded and went to Thornclaw and told them of his predicament. Thornclaw nodded,

"Dovewing! Foxleap! You're going to the mountains!" Dovewing and Foxleap, still groggy from just getting up, were suddenly excited as they bounced around.

"Why?" Dovewing asked.

"Jayfeather had a sign from StarClan. You will be his escort." Dovewing gave an excited squeal.

"When do we leave?" Foxleap asked.

"Is there anything to wait for?" Thornclaw asked Jayfeather. Jayfeather shook his head,

"No, so now would be a good time to leave." The rest of the Clan gathered as Jayfeather, flanked by Dovewing and Foxleap, exited the ThunderClan camp, embarking on their journey to the mountains.

Dovewing's excitement quickly became annoyance as she struggled to cover the rocky terrain. She clambered up the hill by the Horseplace clumsily as she fell behind Foxleap.

"Need a hand?" He called to her. Dovewing shook her head, gritted her teeth, and finally managed to pull herself over the summit. She could see the whole lake territories from here! She extended her senses, but recoiled soon. Back in the ThunderClan forest, the trees and bush had blocked her senses a little, Now that she was in the wide open, she could stretch her senses all the way to a cluster of mountains that would take almost a moon to get to on paw. Going down the hill was a lot easier, and she beat Foxleap to the bottom with time to spare. They waited patiently while Jayfeather took a hard time to get down. Finally, they continued, and they hit deciduous forest. After a long time of travelling, Jayfeather announced they would stop and make camp. He settled himself down while Dovewing and Foxleap had a hunting contest. Dovewing won, but it was close, with Dovewing catching a squirrel and a thrush while Foxleap captured a mouse. Dovewing tossed the squirrel to Jayfeather and dug in to her thrush. She reflected on the first day of her journey, and was satisfied at the progress. She couldn't wait for tomorrow.


	14. New Stoneteller

_**Fatal War**_

_**Chapter 14**_

_The next day they made it out of the forest and came to the foot of the mountains. They started to climb the mountains. Terrain became very difficult as the grounds became steeper. At that, the weather became brutally cold, and snow began to fall. Dovewing hissed in annoyance as a snowflake got her in the eye. Jayfeather found it especially difficult. The air became thinner as they travelled upward, and wind gusts nearly blew them away. They were traversing a very steep ledge when Foxleap suddenly disappeared. Dovewing ran to the ledge and found Foxleap dangling on the edge, about to fall. Dovewing stretched her claws,_

"_Foxleap! Grab my paw!" Foxleap stretched for it, but it was too far up._

"_Help!" He shrieked. Suddenly several different scents washed over Dovewing, and a moment later, there were a bunch of cats splattered in mud making a chain of themselves, with each cat grabbing the other's tail. Dovewing ran to help. The lead cat was lowered down and grabbed Foxleap by the paws and started haul him up. Then Foxleap slipped and was dangling by one paw. Dovewing gasped and bit harder into the tail of the cat in front of her, who hissed in annoyance. The cat grabbed Foxleap again, and dragged him back over the ledge. Foxleap collapsed to the ground. Dovewing anxiously went up to him and checked him for injury but found none. Foxleap gasped to the cats who found him,_

"_Thanks!" The cats didn't respond to his thanks, instead saying,_

"_We need to get to shelter. Follow us." The muddy cats lead them along the cliff and up a path until they came to a river. They followed the river until they came to a waterfall. They traversed down the path beside it._

"_Behind the waterfall." The cats directed. Dovewing stared at them as if they gone mouse-brained._

"_Do it." Jayfeather snapped. Dovewing flattened herself behind the waterfall, and, to her surprise, found a warm cave. Inside was a main chamber with several tunnels leading out. Eager to explore, Dovewing went down one of the tunnels._

_Lionstar leapt onto the Great Oak and surveyed the cats in the clearing below. Tonight, ThunderClan was the first one to the Gathering. He waited while Mistystar and Blackstar arrived. Mistystar spoke first,_

"_We hereby recall our war declaration on ThunderClan, after what happened to ThunderClan, it can't possibly be StarClan's will for us to continue fighting." Lionstar dipped his head,_

"_War recall accepted, Mistystar." He continued to speak,_

"_Firestar is dead. He hunts with StarClan now." Mistystar's eyes filled with grief, _

"_He will be remembered among the Clans. He always helped others in need." Even Blackstar was sad, and he commented on Firestar's leadership skills. Then he continued,_

"_Our war is over, ThunderClan. We shall stop fighting you if you stop fighting us." Lionstar accepted the cease-fire proposal. As the Gathering ended, Lionblaze thought, for now, it seems the Clans are at peace_.

"Stoneteller is dead!" Jayfeather's rasping mew woke everyone up. Dovewing had spent last night getting acquainted with the tribe cats. Now she studied each of their reactions. Brook and Night sobbed openly. Crag dipped his head in acceptance. Swoop asked,

"Did he choose a successor?" Jayfeather nodded, and beckoned the tribe cats outside.

"Crag Where Eagles Nest, stand forward." Crag looked surprised as Jayfeather named him the new Teller of the Pointed Stones.

"From this moment on, you shall be known as the Teller of the Pointed Stones. Others will come after you moon upon moon upon moon. Choose them well, train them well, and trust the future of the Tribe to them." The new Stoneteller stood in shocked silence as his Tribemates congratulated him. The mood soon became sombre, however, as the old Stoneteller's body was dragged out for his Tribemates to grieve over. Jayfeather turned to Dovewing and Foxleap, 

"It's time to go home." He, Dovewing, and Foxleap said their goodbyes and began to go down the ledge. They past a patrol of prey-hunters and cave-guards on their way to go hunting. Dovewing looked up by chance and saw a large bird silhouetted against the sky.

"Wow, what a big bird!" She called to the hunting patrol. Swoop's eyes followed the line.

"Eagle!" She warned. Suddenly the eagle dived, talons outstretched, and picked Swoop up. Sheer and Pebble leapt onto the wings of the eagle, dragging it down so it released Swoop. In a moment Splash and Gray were on the eagle. Splash bent down to give the killing bite when the eagle suddenly got one of its talons around Swoop again, and, using her as leverage, pushed himself up. Foxleap suddenly ran in to help.

"Foxleap! No!" Dovewing screeched. The eagle grabbed Foxleap and began to carry him off. Snarling in fury, Swoop leapt up and scratched at the eagle's talons. The eagle released Foxleap and grabbed Swoop instead. 

"NO!" With a humongous effort, Foxleap leapt up and grabbed at the air. He fell just short of the eagle, and Gray had to catch him as he fell back down. Swoop, still in the eagles talons, was flown out of reach.

"Help! Somebody! Help me…." Swoop's cries of terror faded as the eagle flew away. Foxleap clambered to his paws, grief in his eyes,

"She's dead."


	15. Dark Forest Rising

**Fatal War**

**Chapter 15**

Jayfeather, Dovewing, and Foxleap padded into the ThunderClan camp. Ferncloud and Poppyfrost were the first to meet them,

"What happened?"

"A tribe cat was taken away by an eagle trying to save Foxleap, and the Stoneteller died, but a new one was named, so the mission wasn't a total waste!" Jayfeather snapped,

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to report to Thornclaw." Jayfeather strode to the golden brown tabby tom and repeated his story. Thornclaw, in turn, reported to Lionstar. The tom listened as Thornclaw finished his report.

"Well, at least the Tribe has a new Stoneteller." Lionstar sighed.

"Send Jayfeather to my den."

"What happened while I was gone?" Jayfeather was sitting in Lionstar's den. Lionstar sighed,

"The war is over. ShadowClan attacked our camp, but we turned the tide. Many ShadowClan cats died when went over the wrong edge of the camp. They surrendered, and at the Gathering Mistystar claimed that it couldn't possibly be StarClan's will for us to keep fighting, so she proposed an armistice, and I accepted. We also now are in charge of WindClan's old territory."

"Well, at least that useless fight is over." Jayfeather grumbled….

Ivypool woke up in the Dark Forest.

"Cats of the Dark Forest! The time has come! We are on the brink of conquering the Clans! When you wake up, kill your leaders and deputies! We shall rule all the Clans around the lake. Later, we'll take the Tribe!" Cats yowled in support of Hawkfrost's battle cry.

Ivypool woke up. She was relieved that no one in ThunderClan was in the Dark Forest and on its side. _Except for Blossomfall! _Ivypool bolted out of the den and saw Blossomfall racing for Lionstar's den.

"No!" Thornclaw bolted across the camp and sank his teeth in Blossomfall's tail. Ivypool raced over to help Thornclaw. Together they pulled Blossomfall to the ground, and Thornclaw knocked her unconscious with sheathed claws. Lionstar, who had come out of the den, reacted in surprise as Ivypool and Thornclaw attacked Blossomfall.

"What is going on?" Ivypool and Thornclaw began to explain in a jumble of voices. Lionstar yowled,

"Silence!" Lionstar brought their voices down.

"Ivypool. Tell me everything." Ivypool explained, in front of an astounded ThunderClan, the whole story, from meeting Hawkfrost in the meadow to the present moment. When she calmed down she addressed Millie angrily,

"I think you owe an apology to your daughter, Millie. But before that, ShadowClan and RiverClan have probably already been conquered."


	16. Patrols

**Fatal War**

**Chapter 16**

**Mad person: This is a fanFICTION. I can turn Firestar into a cat-eating badger for all you care. I can make Firestar dumb if I want, 'because this is all from my imagination. And yes, I have read Warriors: The Sign of the Moon released on April 5. Just because I read it doesn't mean I have to follow it. It's all from my imagination. Live with it or stop reading the story.**

"I suggest we beef up our border patrols. We don't want unwanted visitors. Judging from the amount of ShadowClan and RiverClan cats in the Dark Forest, there are enough to take over their Clans." Everyone in ThunderClan stared in wide-eyed shock at Ivypool. Molepaw was glaring at his mentor, Blossomfall.

Thornclaw stepped forward, "I shall send a patrol along the ShadowClan border. RiverClan may try to come with ShadowClan. I shall also prepare a patrol along the WindClan border, in case they come forward from there. I'll take Sorreltail, Cherrypaw, Molepaw, Cinderheart, Bumblestripe, Graystripe, Sandstorm, and Foxleap. Dustpelt can lead the WindClan border patrol, along with Dovewing, Ivypool, Whitewing, Spiderleg, Toadstep, Icecloud (Icecloud had recently moved out of the medicine den), Cloudtail, and Brightheart. The rest can do the usual barricade-the-elders-queens-and-kits-in-the-nursery-and-elder's-den procedure." Thornclaw motioned with his tail, and his patrol streaked out of the camp, Dustpelt's patrol on their heels.

Cherrypaw was so excited. Her first battle! With almost no training beforehand! This would be a great story to tell Poppyfrost and Berrynose! Oh sure, she was a little scared, but mainly excited. Thornclaw suddenly motioned for them to stop. He advanced slowly. They were almost at the ShadowClan border.

"DARK FOREST WARRIORS! ATTACK!" On both sides, cats of all sizes and colors attacked the ThunderClan patrol. ShadowClan scent washed over Cherrypaw's nose, and she leapt to the side just as a ShadowClan-erm, _Dark Forest_ warrior barrelled by, missing her by a hair. She turned to face Cherrypaw, hackles raised. Cherrypaw squealed in fear. The Dark Forest warrior launched herself at her and slammed her to the ground and began to gut her. She yowled in pain. In a second, Thornclaw and Molepaw, fighting side-by-side, grabbed the Dark Forest warrior and hauled her off Cherrypaw and over their shoulders.

"You okay?" Molepaw asked.

"Fine." Replied Cherrypaw. She and Molepaw turned to Thornclaw.

"Battle's lost." He rasped. Cherrypaw gazed past him and saw that ThunderClan was indeed outnumbered and outfought.

"THUNDERCLAN! RETREAT!" Thornclaw called. The ThunderClan cats stopped fighting and ran back through ThunderClan territory and through the camp entrance.

"They're coming!" Thornclaw gasped, grabbing leftover bramble from the prison dens and stuffing them in the entrance.

"STOP! You'll trap Dustpelt's patrol out!" Lionstar cried.

Thornclaw turned to face Lionstar, "If I don't a bunch of Dark Forest warriors will be in the camp momentarily." Lionstar had nothing to say to that, so Thornclaw turned back and continued to stuff the entrance with bramble.

Dovewing desperately splashed through the WindClan border stream. Her fur soaked with water, pulling her down. The only cat who seemed to be good in water fighting was Ivypool, and even then she was struggling a bit. _They must teach water fighting in the Dark Forest, because these guys are really good in water, even by RiverClan standards_. These RiverClan dark Forest cats had simply surrounded them, forced them into the stream, and attacked them there. They had an easy advantage, as no ThunderClan cat save for Ivypool was trained in water combat. The Dark Forest warrior laughed as Dovewing slipped under the current. Suddenly the silver and white tabby pelt of Ivypool was in front of her. Slashing at the Dark Forest warrior, she drove it away. But the battle was lost.

"ThunderClan! Retreat!" Dustpelt cried. He led the retreat, and the ThunderClan cats bolted after him. They raced through the ThunderClan underbrush back to the camp. Dustpelt realized with horror that the entrance was blocked with bramble. But he was moving too fast, and simply ploughed through the brambles, his patrol following suit. He met a horrified Thornclaw.

"Put the brambles back in! The Dark Forest cats are _right outside_!" Too late. Even as Dustpelt and Thornclaw stuffed the brambles in, hordes of Dark Forest warriors began to pour into the camp.


	17. Occupation

**Fatal War**

**Chapter 17**

Battle exploded in the ThunderClan camp. The ThunderClan warriors and apprentices were outnumbered, outfought, and taken by surprise. I mean, they saw Thornclaw patching the entrance, but they thought that would keep them out. They didn't know Dustpelt's patrol would arrive first. Now they were being pwned by a large Dark Forest patrol. Graystripe and Millie were being outmanned near the nursery. Ivypool, Thornclaw, and Lionstar were the only ones untouched by Dark Forest warriors, halting wave after wave. Unfortunately, the rest of ThunderClan wasn't so lucky. Then a Dark Forest warrior got onto Highrock.

"STOP!" He cried. Everyone looked up. Ivypool blinked. _It was Hollowpaw_! The dark brown tabby stared at Lionstar.

"If anymore ThunderClan cats put up resistance we shall kill this whole Clan! As of now, the ThunderClan camp is under occupation. No ThunderClan cat goes in or out. As an occupying force, we shall do your hunting and feed you food as well as us. You may only leave your dens when we say so." Hollowpaw declared. The ThunderClan cats had no choice but to obey. As the sun set, the Dark Forest warriors tore down the barricades to the elder's den and nursery and told them about how they were living under occupation. Some went out to hunt, and a guard was assigned to each den. Lionstar went to the leader's den, Jayfeather to the medicine cat's den, Cherrypaw and Molepaw to the apprentices' den. Thornclaw, Ivypool, Dovewing, and the other warriors went to the warriors' den. Every now and then a few pieces of fresh-kill were shoved into the dens. The war was over.

**There's a short chapter for you all. I'm falling behind on my Easter marathon, so I'm shortening the chapters a little so I can get back on schedule (but they won't be **_**this **_**short). I'll update the next chapter in about an hour after I'm done writing it. **

**~Swiftpath**


	18. Reinforcements

**Fatal War**

**Chapter 18**

**My Easter marathon was sort of a success. I stayed on schedule for the most part, updating daily. However, this chapter is the one I wanted to update on Saturday, and my FictionPress story was supposed to be updated yesterday. Yesterday was our first warm day all year, so I spent it outside, so that's my lame excuse. Since it's over, I won't update to make up for the chapters, I will just continue on my normal schedule. Just thought you'd like to know, even though you probably don't.**

**-Swiftpath**

Dovewing woke up. The other ThunderClan warriors were still asleep, and their soft snores filled the den. Two nests were already empty. _Huh_? She thought. _The Dark Forest warriors never let us out except to make dirt, and the chances of two cats going at the same time are so slim I've never seen it happen_. Dovewing felt the two nests. They were at the very center of the den. _Graystripe and Sandstorm_. They hadn't slept last night. _They've escaped_! Dovewing thought excitedly. She settled down to go back to sleep. _I've got to try that eventually_.

"Where's Sandstorm and Graystripe?" Ivypool woke up and stared into the amber eyes of a Dark Forest warrior.

"What about them?" Ivypool asked dozily.

"They're missing." The warrior snarled.

'I haven't seen them." Ivypool reported. The Dark Forest warrior went to question someone else. _Where could Graystripe and Sandstorm be_? Ivypool thought. She settled down for more sleep. _Not much else to do anyway_. She thought as she slipped into darkness.

The Dark Forest warriors came to the horseplace. Here Graystripe's and Sandstorm's scent went off to the hill.

"Follow them." The lead warrior said. Two warriors ran up the hill, leaving the rest to head back to camp.

The two Dark Forest warriors struggled up the hill and went down the other side. Here the ThunderClan scent went into the forest. They looked at each other, shrugged, and continued into the forest. The sun began to set, and the Dark Forest warriors decided to make camp.

"Come on!" Graystripe yelled. He led the Tribe of Rushing Water down the mountains. He had escaped and went with Sandstorm to get the Tribe of Rushing Water. Sandstorm had kept going, saying that she needed to get SkyClan, and she told Graystripe about the whole story of how Firestar and her had gone to SkyClan and help them rebuild. Graystripe was satisfied, now that two groups of cats the size of Clans were coming to help them. _ThunderClan _will _prevail_! Graystripe thought excitedly as they came to the bottom of the mountains.

"Graystripe and Sandstorm abandoned us. Why?" Thornclaw demanded, "I mean, I could understand it if a few other cats I knew did it, but I'd have never guessed Graystripe and Sandstorm could be so selfish!"

"Maybe they went to get help." Ivypool suggested.

Thornclaw whipped around, "Maybe they were so scared for their own pelt they ran without a second glance back." Ivypool flinched. When it came to arguments, Thornclaw sure was sharp.

"I never thought they'd do it." Bumblestripe moped.

"Yeah." Foxleap added, dejected, "I'd have thought they had more well meaning in them. I never knew they'd be fox-hearted cowards." Ivypool watched as her Clanmates bickered about how fox-hearted Graystripe and Sandstorm were. _They have no proof that they ran off. How can they already make judgements_? Ivypool thought as she settled down for more sleep.

The two Dark Forest warriors sleeping in a temporary camp in the forest were awoken as what sounded like hundreds of paws pounding became louder and louder. The two gazed at each other in fear. Then the trees in front of them exploded in a mass of snarling, hissing cats. They barely had time to scream before they were mowed down by the Clan-sized force.

Ivypool paced around the cramped quarters of the warriors den. There was _nothing _to do. NOTHING! She continued to pace, and her Clanmates followed suit.

Graystripe leapt the WindClan stream into ThunderClan territory. A couple cave-guards took care of the Dark Forest warriors on patrol. They thundered for the ThunderClan camp.

Hollowpaw, who had become leader of the Dark Forest ThunderClan force, surveyed the camp. There were patrols in the ShadowClan and RiverClan camps as well, keeping their occupants under control. As he stare at the Dark Forest cats in the clearing below, he couldn't help but feel a tinge of pride. _I helped to make this happen. Now the Dark Forest rules the Clans_. Thunder started to roll. _Huh_? He looked into the clear blue sky. Not a cloud. The thunder continued to rumble.

"Oh no…." He cursed as he realized what the thunder was, since scents were now sweeping the camp.

"We're under attack-" Hollowpaw was cut short as a seemingly endless stream of mud covered cats tumbled into the camp, striking his warriors down. He gasped and leapt into the fray. The Dark Forest warriors were outnumbered and outfought. Dovewing peeked her head out of the warriors den to see what all the ruckus was about.

"Thornclaw! Ivypool! The Tribe of Rushing Water is here to help!" She cried. Soon a huge stream of ThunderClan warriors came out of the den. Lionstar, Cherrypaw, and Molepaw leapt in from their dens. Soon the clearing was a mass of hissing, screeching cats, but Hollowpaw knew that his side would lose if they didn't get help soon.

"I'm going to get help! Be right back!" He screeched to his warriors before pelting out of the ThunderClan camp. Graystripe saw Hollowpaw leaving.

"Splash! Go after him!" He called. Splash extracted herself from the fighting and hurled herself after Hollowpaw. The battle continued.

Hollowpaw raced into the ShadowClan camp, "A huge band of cats is attacking, we're losing ground and may be forced to give up the ThunderClan camp!" There was a yowl as the Dark Forest cats pushed out of the camp, racing to attack the ThunderClan camp. Hollowpaw raced after them, thinking, _Not even a conference. Just go to battle. We're so efficient_! Ahead of them was Splash. She stopped, mouth open in terro9r, gazing at the huge mass of cats pushing towards her. Finally, she turned to run. It was too late. With a yowl, one Dark Forest cat pinned her down, and both of them disappeared in the mass of Dark Forest warriors.

Graystripe looked up, surprised, as more Dark Forest warriors made their way into the ThunderClan camp. Now _they _were outnumbered.

"ThunderClan! Tribe of Rushing Water! Retreat!" At once the Tribe cats and the liberated ThunderClan cats raced out of camp. Graystripe waited for the elders, queens, and kits to get out. Last one was Lionstar.

He raced after Graystripe, "Where's Sandstorm?"

"She went to get SkyClan."

"What?"

"Tell you later." The two cats raced through ThunderClan's territory and emerged onto the windswept plains of WindClan.

"Are we being followed?" Lionstar wondered.

Graystripe sniffed the air, "I don't think so."

"Good." Lionstar nodded, "Lets go to the old WindClan camp. We can make temporary camp there."

He gazed up at the stars beginning to appear, "Until Sandstorm returns with whatever SkyClan is, we're fugitives."


	19. SkyClan

**Fatal War**

**Chapter 19**

A whole moon passed. The cats of ThunderClan and the Tribe of Rushing Water had made WindClan territory _their_ territory. They did border patrols by the old ThunderClan border and the Horseplace. They learned to hunt the surviving rabbits that hadn't been killed by the crazy phenomenon that had struck this territory not that long ago. It seemed like moons to Lionstar.

He bounded out to meet Graystripe, who was dragging a rabbit into camp, "Where could Sandstorm be? Its been a moon!"

Graystripe shrugged, "I'm wondering the same thing."

"So you see, Leafstar, we need your help." The brown and cream tabby she-cat listened as Sandstorm told her what was happening at the lake. To her left, her deputy, Sharpclaw, paced. The dark ginger tom seemed to be in deep thought as he listened to Sandstorm.

Leafstar dipped her head as Sandstorm finished, "We must help. You and Firestar did so much for us, it would be mouse-brained of us not to try to help."

"I agree." Sharpclaw supported. That was it. No reasons, just _I agree_.

Leafstar stood, "We'll give the Clan a day to prepare for leaving, and then we're gone."

Sandstorm went outside to watch as Leafstar gave the speech to her Clan.

"Petalnose, Waspwhisker, Ebonyclaw, Billystorm, Sagepaw, Mintpaw, Snookpaw, Sharpclaw, Harveymoon, Macgyver, Rockshade, Bouncefire, and Tinycloud will make up the patrol. Frecklewish, you'll come along on medicine cat duty, and Echosong will stay here to watch over the cats staying behind. Patchfoot, you're in charge of the Clan while I'm gone. Come into my den so I can teach you how to perform the apprentice and warrior ceremonies, since I think Nettlekit, Creekkit, Plumkit, and Rabbitkit are nearly ready to become apprentices."

Leafstar lead Patchfoot into her den. The black and white tom seemed excited to be taking on duties as leader. Sandstorm let herself explore the camp, recalling it from the last time she was there. As she went near the medicine den, Echosong burst out suddenly, frightened as a kit.

'What's wrong-" The silver tabby ignored Sandstorm and raced into the leader's den.

In the leader's den Echosong was panting like a horse.

"What's wrong?" Leafstar pressed.

Echosong's green gaze came to stare into Leafstar's amber eyes, "Badgers!" That was all she said before blacking out.

"Frecklepaw, you cannot come with us on the journey." You need to stay here and take care of Echosong." Leaftstar patiently explained.

Frecklepaw stared, wide-eyed, then nodded, "I'll do my best to get her back to normal."

**Okay, I am so sorry for writing a chapter that only had 426 words, but a) I have a commitment b) I spilled my dinner on the keyboard and c) I'm really not into. I know these are all lame excuses, I am sincerely sorry, and I'll try to do better in the future. Feel free to totally yell at me in your reviews.**


	20. The Start of a Liberation

**The Fatal War**

**Chapter 20**

Lionstar surveyed the WindClan camp, where both ThunderClan and the Tribe were crowded in. A new problem had arrived within the past moon. The phenomenon had already killed much of the prey on WindClan territory, and now, with both a Tribe and a Clan hunting on the territory, the entire group of cats were going hungry. Things were only made worse with the approach of leaf-bare. If Sandstorm and the SkyClan cats didn't arrive on this side of leaf-bare, they wouldn't come at all. With Dark Forest cats becoming increasingly aggressive on both the ThunderClan and RiverClan borders, they couldn't afford that. Becoming anxious with these thoughts, Lionstar bounded down to the cave with a crack in it, squeezing inside to find Jayfeather.

"Meet in my den," he told him, "Thornclaw, Ivypool, and Dovewing are coming as well."

"I understand." Jayfeather muttered, scrabbling at the dry and crackling herbs in his supply. _We also need a fresh source of herbs for Jayfeather, _Lionstar thought, _Or we'll have sickness as well as hunger. _He bounded off to tell the other three cats where to meet.

"We need more territory. There's no other answer." declared Lionstar, pacing the den. Jayfeather stared at him with sightless eyes.

"Maybe we should wait for Sandstorm and SkyClan?" Dovewing suggested, "That would mean more hunters and we'd get more prey."

Ivypool flicked her ear with her tail, "Stupid, that would just bring more mouths to feed on a prey-poor territory. I vote we take territory from the Dark Forest so we can sustain ourselves."

"We should try and liberate ThunderClan territory, that's the one we're most familiar with." added Thornclaw.

"Agreed." growled Jayfeather. Dovewing looked around for support, but Lionstar was slowly nodding, and Thornclaw's eyes were glowing in anticipation.

"Fine!" Dovewing exclaimed, "Let's liberate ThunderClan territory!"

In the end, it took another half moon to prepare for the battle. Frigid conditions had delayed training, and Lionstar had resigned himself to the fact SkyClan wasn't coming anytime soon. The fight would take place in the coldest leaf-bare for at least 60 moons. The Tribs cats had developed a way to put snow on their pelts, not unlike their old strategy with mud for camouflage against the bitter landscape. Cats were trained in snow fighting, but also in camouflage, stealth, and endurance of the freezing temperatures. They were also trained in surviving away from camp for up to a quarter moon. Dovewing had just come in with her sister from one of the cold endurance exercises, which was standing guarding the camp from moon-high to sun-high, and was exhausted, cold, and indistinguishable due to a large coating of snow. Sneezing, she curled up in her nest in the warrior's den, wishing that it wasn't WindClan territory, and eventually fell into a cold, restless sleep.

Dovewing woke. Today was the day of the battle. She woke and shook herself free of moss. Outside the wind was howling, and the walls of the den rattled, leaves and tendrils shaking in the wind. _Well, this is _Wind_Clan territory, _she told herself, _get used to it. _She stretched elegantly in the empty den, as everyone else was outside, then went out the den entrance. Her first reaction was blizzard. She couldn't see a thing, just grey, and the wind nearly blew her off her paws. Little bits of snow embedded in her fur like thousands of tiny icicles. Making out a few shapes, she crawled towards them, curled up against the wind. Finally reaching them, she saw it was Thornclaw surrounded by a group of warriors.

"Let's call it off for another day!" yelled Berrynose above the howling wind.

"Yeah!" Spiderleg agreed.

Thornclaw flicked his tail, "With these conditions, we could easily sneak through the territory and capture the ThunderClan camp by surprise."

"What about the conditions? How are we supposed to fight?" asked Rosepetal.

A new voice answered, "It'll be sheltered in the camp," Everyone turned to see Jayfeather coming towards them, oblivious to the wind, "I'll be behind the fighting lines with herbs for injured cats."

"Let's go!" Thornclaw commanded. As one, the cats rose and charged out of the hollow. Outside, they were flung around like fresh-kill by the wind. Dovewing tried to coat herself in snow by rolling in it, but when she got back up, it was blown off. _Not like I need it in _this_ weather. _She though to herself. Fox-length by fox-length, Clan and Tribe alike advanced, flat to the snow, throughout the day, the wind blowing straight in their faces. _At least we'll catch their scent long before they catch ours. _Dovewing thought. Then she corrected herself, _No scent would last longer than a few seconds in these conditions. _For what seemed like an eternity to Dovewing, they finally reached the border stream, frozen solid. Slipping and sliding on the ice, they made it to the other side. Dovewing felt the change immediately. With ThunderClan's thick undergrowth and tall trees, the wind wasn't nearly as harsh.

"Let's rest here." declared Thornclaw. Within minutes the cats were huddling together close for warmth under the shelter of an oak tree. Dovewing soon fell into an uneasy sleep.

Sandstorm was bent double against the wind as they crossed the Thunderpath back in the Clan's old territories. She sadly gazed at the twoleg nests that now occupied most of the area. Luckily, few monsters were out in this weather, and the ones that were out moved slow. Leafstar touched her nose to Sandstorm's shoulder, "I know it's hard." she whispered.

Sandstorm strengthened her resolve and indicated Highstones, "There is shelter there to rest."

Leafstar nodded, "Good." The SkyClan patrol picked their way to the Highstones and took shelter in the caves. Sanstorm went down the darkest tunnel and weaved through the passageways. After worrying she was lost, she emerged into the room with the Moonstone, glittering as brightly as it was when the Clans first were here. Firestar had once told her in secret about it. She touched her nose to the cold stone and closed her eyes. She did not dream.


End file.
